How about them apples? Fall is a good time to plant

Sunday

Sep 27, 2009 at 3:15 AM

This is apple season: the time for picking, for making pies and applesauce, for making cider, and the time for planting them.

Let's start with the egg, not the chicken — planting them. Fall is a good time to plant because the weather is generally cool, the soil moist, and because tree roots are most active in the fall — even after leaf drop.

Apples require two different varieties to get good pollination — and a good apple crop. I have wild apples — planted by birds, no doubt — that will cross pollinate with any tree I might plant. Still, I like to have cultivated apples of both early and late varieties so I can start eating apples in late summer and continue harvesting right up until late fall.

Pick a good site in full sun for your tree. The old adage of "Apples don't like wet feet" is true, I suppose, though I have apples growing in an area with a very high water table that do just fine. Orchards are often sited on south-facing slopes for good water drainage, and for good air drainage.

In spring when the apples are in bloom, you can lose fruit to frost if you plant them in a cold hollow. Cold air slides downhill, so a hillside orchard may avoid frost even when frost strikes a hundred feet away.

Apples do best in soil rich in organic matter, but please avoid the mistake I made when I was young and stupid: Don't dig a big planting hole and fill it with compost and rotted manure and fertilizer. This encourages the roots to stay in the rich soil zone instead of wandering far and wide, which is what you want. This is known as the bathtub effect. If the bathtub dries out in a drought, the tree will suffer.

The other mistake I made planting my first apple tree was to ignore the trunk flare. Often trees come from the nursery with soil over the part of the tree trunk that flares out, particularly as the tree matures. Look at a mature tree in the forest — you will see roots taking off from a widened area, or flare, at the base of the tree. The bark will rot and the tree will sicken and may die in six to 10 years if you cover the bark with soil — or even a mulch volcano.

My fated first apple tree first showed signs of stress by turning leaf color early in the fall, prematurely early. And then there were the telltale signs of tip dieback — the top branches of the tree had no leaves, even in summer. But I was ignorant and ignored the problem.

So eventually I pulled it out (it was easy to do since the roots never went anywhere) and it went into the woodpile. If you've planted a tree that shows signs of stress, carefully scrape away the soil until you find the trunk flare and regrade the area around it to keep it dry. It may survive.

If you wish to plant an apple tree and have truly crummy soil, dig a very wide hole –— 10 feet wide — but not a deep one. The loosening effect of the digging will make it easier for the roots to extend.

And yes, you can mix in some compost. Just don't make a very rich mixture, and no fertilizer, please. If you feel compelled to do something nice, add some rock or colloidal phosphate — minerals that will provide slow-release phosphorus, supporting root growth.

If you have more apples than you can eat fresh, here are some ideas: first, buy an apple slicer. This is a wagon-wheel shaped kitchen tool that you press down on the apple, slicing it into 8 or 10 pieces and separating the core from the slices very quickly. You might find them locally at a kitchen store, or if not, online from The Vermont Country Store (www.vermontcountrystore.com).

I make applesauce with extra apples, package in zipper bags and freeze. I just cook the apple slices (skins and all, since the skins have lots of vitamins), add cinnamon and mash with a potato masher. Add a little cider while cooking if the sauce is too dry. If you want a less lumpy mix, run it through a food mill.

Want winter apple pies? Make the pie mix and put in your favorite pie pan to freeze — but without the crust. Put parchment paper or wax paper in the pan for ease of removal. Once frozen, put the pre-formed pie in a zipper bag to store in the freezer. Later, make the crust and pop the frozen pie into it, then cook as you would normally, just adding a little extra time.

Most cider makers will use your apples to make your own cider — for a fee. Lots less mess than pressing your own at home. Be sure to wash apples first if using drops from under the tree.

I freeze lots of cider made that way — just be sure to leave more than an inch of space for expansion. You'll have to break the seal on the plastic jug coming from the presser and pour some out to leave enough space on top.

So go plant an apple tree. Apples are some of the least expensive, least labor intensive food you can grow. In 5 years you can be harvesting free apples — for the rest of your life.

Henry Homeyer is a garden designer and consultant. His website is www.Gardening-Guy.com. He may be reached at henry.homeyer@comcast.net or P.O. Box 364, Cornish Flat, NH 03746.